AuthorTopic: The Velvet Underground (Read 1013 times)

A very interesting band, if only for having a very unique style and for their influence. I got their debut album, 'Velvet Underground & Nico' a few weeks ago, and I was expecting to love it, since it gets raving reviews all around the internet. I was only being familiar with the opener, the beautiful 'Sunday Morning', which is without a doubt, the most accessible song here. I hated it at first. Boring, monotonous, repetitive, and all being "topped" by the cold and emotionless voice of the so called german singer Nico. But I've learned from experience that certain albums need some time until you get used to the band's style, so I kept on playing it. 9 listens after, I think it's a good album. 'Heroin', 'Sunday Morning', 'Venus in Furs' and 'All Tomorrow's Parties' are great songs. But still, I wouldn't call it a masterpiece, nor the best album of all-time. I don't even know if it would rank as a 10/10 in my book. How can an album with 'European Son' on it be considered perfect, anyway?

I'm very familiar with the reviews and the banana cover and all that jazz, but i've never bought the album because I hate what i've heard. The monotone voice and the almost punk like quality just turn me off. I admit though that I never gave the album an honest shot so I might be a little nearsighted on my take.

I'm very familiar with the reviews and the banana cover and all that jazz, but i've never bought the album because I hate what i've heard. The monotone voice and the almost punk like quality just turn me off. I admit though that I never gave the album an honest shot so I might be a little nearsighted on my take.

The voices are indeed kind of monotone, both Lou Reed's and Nico's. The production is raw and unpolished, but that's about the only thing that sounds punkish about it. The songs are slow and they drag on and on, and most of the time they sound dreamy and melancholic, as opposed to the fast and angry punk ones.

There's a great quote that Velvet fans like to slam into your face once you criticize the album. I think Brian Eno said it : "The first Velvet Underground album only sold 10,000 copies, but everyone who bought it formed a band."

After the Beatles the Velvet Underground are my next Favorite band, if you want to listen to something more comercial listen to the third album called Velvet Underground or the forth album called Loaded there are some fantastic songs on both

After the Beatles the Velvet Underground are my next Favorite band, if you want to listen to something more comercial listen to the third album called Velvet Underground or the forth album called Loaded there are some fantastic songs on both

David

Hi David and welcome to the forum. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll give those albums a try.